Slack controlling device for cables



March 1, 1949.-

T. M. JOHNSON SLACK CONTROLLING DEVICE FOR CABLES Filed Nov; 5, 1946 r 0 t N m 1 .m.

Patented Mar. 1, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SLACK CONTROLLING DEVICE FOR CABLES Thomas M. Johnson, Baltimore, Md.

Application November 5, 1946, Serial No. 707,965

1 Claim. (01. 254175) This invention relates to new and useful improvements and structural refinements in slack controlling devices for cables, and the principal object of the invention is; to provide a device of the character herein described, such as may be conveniently and effectively employed in association with winches on cranes, steam shovels, hoists, and on other types of raising or lowering equipment.

A further object of the invention is to provide bearings I9 provided in the framework I5 and a a slack controlling device which is automatically lever 20 is also secured to the shaft, as will be actuated by the tension of the cable with which it clearly apparent from the accompanying drawis employed. ings.

Another object of the invention is to provide The lever 20 is, in turn, connected to a suitable a slack controlling device whereby the rotation control rod 2|, the latter being intended for of the winch, or the like, will be resisted when manual manipulation, whereby the brake may be the slackness of the cable reaches a predeterapplied or released as desired. mined degree. The essence of the invention resides in the pro- A still further object of the invention is to vision of a bell crank 22, the same being'pivotally provide a slack controlling device which is simple connected as at 23 to the framework l5. The in construction and operation, dependable in use, a s Of e C an 22 are of u equ lengths. e and which will not easily become damaged. e a e y long arm 24 y g t its Outer e With the above more important objects in View, a roller 25 rotata y m e n a Suitable p and such other objects as may become apparent OI Shaft as this specification proceeds, the invention con- 25 It W b n d that the roller 25 ri pon. sists essentially of the arrangement and conso to speak, the cable l3, as is best shown in struction of parts as illustrated in the accompany- Figure ing drawings, in which; The relatively short arm 21 of the crank 22 is Figure 1 is a side elevation of the invention, p d With a p n the latter n turn, showing the same in readiness for use. 30 gaging a Slot 9 formed n One end of a link 30.

Figure 2 is an end View, taken substantially in To facilitate longitudinal adjustment, this link the direction of the arrow 2 in Figure 1, is, in eiiect, composed of two sections connected Figure 3 is a cross sectional view, taken sube e y a turnbuckle L and the remaining stantially in the plane of the line 3-3 in Figure 1, end of the link 39 s pivotally ted as at 32 d, 35 to the aforementioned lever 20.

Figure 4 is a cross sectional View, taken sub- It will be also noted that the lever 20 is prostantially in the plane of the line 44 in Figvided with a pin 33, this being slidably engageable ure 3. with a slot 34 formed in the end of the aforemen- Like characters of reference are used to desigtioned Con r r nate like parts in the specification and through- When the invention is placed in use, e ro e out the several views. 25 will ride upon the cable l3 as has been already Referring now to the accompanying drawings explained. When slackness occurs in the cable, in detail, the invention consists of a slack conthe roller 25 and the associated arm 24 will fall trolling device designated generally by the referdownwardly in the direction of the arrow 35, ence character It, the same being associated with thereby moving the link 30 as at 36 and tightena winding winch H, such as may include one or ing the brake band l4 so as to resist the rotation more of the winding drums It. For purposes of of the associated drum I2. The advantageous illustration, two winding drums are shown in nature of the invention is thus clearly apparent the accompanyin drawings, each being provided and the advantages may be particularly apprewith the slack controlling device hereinafter more ciated when the Winch is employed for hoisting fully described. The structure of the two slack or lowering a load which is hidden from the view controlling devices is substantially the same, and of the operator. accordingly, a description of one will suffice for The brake band l4 may be actuated manually both. when so desired by means of the control rod 2!.

Each of the winding drums I2 is, of course, In such event, the link 30 wi1l,of course, move in adapted to receive a cable [3, and the drum is equipped with a suitable brake, as exemplified in the drawings by the external contracting band brake It. One end of the band I4 is attached to the frame work IS on which the winch is mounted, the remaining end of the band being connected by a suitable rod Hi to a crank H, the latter in turn, bein secured upon a shaft l8.

This shaft is rotatably journaled in suitable be transmitted to the control rod 25.

the direction of the arrow 36, but it will be noted that this motion will not be transmitted to the bell crank 22, since the pin 28 will simply slide in the slot 29. Conversely, when the brake band I4 is actuated by the slack controlling device, the pin 33 will slide in the slot 3% and no motion will It will be apparent that in this manner, the two brake actuating devices are capable of independent operation without interference.

It is believed that the advantages and use of the invention will be clearly understood from the foregoing disclosure and accordingly, further description thereof at this point is considered unnecessary.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to which do notdepart from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

What I claim as my invention is:

In association with a cable winding winch equipped with aband brake and with a manually operated control rod for actuating said brake, a

slack controlling device comprising in combination, a bell crank pivoted to the framework of said winch, a roller rotatably mounted on one arm of said crank and adapted to ride upon said cable, a lever pivoted to said framework and operatively connected to said brake, a pin provided on said lever, said rod being slotted to slidably receive said pin, a further pin on the remaining arm of said crank, and a connecting link pivoted at one end thereof to said lever, the remaining end of said link being slotted to slidably receive said last mentioned pin, said bell crank, link and The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,024,085 Krenz Apr. 23, 1912 1,941,158 Spinetta Dec. 26, 1933 2,115,737 Minschner May 3, 1938 

